Political opponents targeting CPEC, not 2018 elections: Shahbaz

He was addressing a ceremony of the Parks and Horticulture Authority where he took the opportunity to lash out an political opponents, who he said did not want the development of the nation. “The defeat-prone mindset is a barrier in the development of the country,” he said.

This was an indirect jibe at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, who is set to march to the residence of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Raiwind on 30th September. He said that they will not succeed and will suffer disappointment from these rallies and unnecessary sit-ins.

He said that the CPEC projects were ongoing and that will eradicate load-shedding from the country in 2018. He revealed that in his birthday congratulatory message, the Chinese envoy has sent a video of a power project developed there and will be launched in 2017, eight months before schedule.

He lashed out at political opponents including the PTI and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the civil society for their opposition to the Orange Line metro train, and said that the they had launched a smear campaign against him on social media.

“They have no concern for the poor people of Punjab, who deserve decent transport,” he said, and that it would help reduce travel duration for them. He vowed to challenge any opposition to the mega-project.